1940-2020
Osborne Mackie Reynolds, Jr., known to friends as “Mac,” passed away on the 4th
day of September, 2020, in Norman, Oklahoma, at the age of 80.
Professor Reynolds was born on the 11th day of May, 1940, in Baltimore, Maryland,
the only child of Mary Letitia Leffler and Osborne Mackie Reynolds. At the age of four,
his parents moved him to Phoenix, Arizona, due to his childhood asthma. He graduated
from West Phoenix High School as Co-Valedictorian in 1957. He earned a B.A. in English
from the University of Arizona College of Liberal Arts in 1961, graduating first in his class
of 1,583 students. He went on to earn an LL.B. from the University of Arizona College of
Law in 1964 where he served as Editor in Chief of the Law Review, graduating second in
his class of 80. Professor Reynolds earned an LL.M. from Stanford University School of
Law in 1965 and a Doctor of Juridical Science from Southern Methodist University in
1968, where he was only the second person to earn the S.J.D. from SMU. Professor
Reynolds served as a teaching fellow at Stanford from 1965 to 1966 and was a visiting
assistant professor of law at the University of Arizona from 1967 to 1968. Professor
Reynolds was a visiting professor at SMU in the spring of 1977 and a visiting professor at
Vanderbilt in the spring of 1981.
Professor Reynolds joined the faculty of the University of Oklahoma College of
Law in 1968 where he served as an assistant professor from 1968 to 1971; associate
professor from 1971 to 1974; professor from 1974 to 2002; and Professor of Law Emeritus
from 2002 until his death. Professor Reynolds was the Maurice Merrill Distinguished
Scholar from 1993 to 2002.
Professor Reynolds authored all five editions of Local Government Law, West
Academic Publishing, 1982-2019. He also authored and co-authored numerous articles
and other works.
Professor Reynolds was well-traveled, having visited over one hundred countries
and all seven continents.
Professor Reynolds was a member of Our Saviour’s Lutheran Church in Tucson,
Arizona, and University Lutheran Church in Norman. He will be laid to rest at East Lawn
Cemetery in Tucson.
Professor Reynolds is survived by countless friends and former students, the lives
of whom he greatly touched. A memorial service will be held at a later date.
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